Liu Guosong, Wintry Mountains Covered with Snow, 1964. Hanging scroll; ink on fibrous paper, 85.4 x 55.8 cm. Chu-tsing Li Collection. Digital photography by Ken Howie.

Coorganized by Phoenix Art Museum and the Harvard University Art Museums, this exhibition showcases more than 50 works from the collection of distinguished historian of Chinese art Chu-tsing Li—the most important and comprehensive collection of modern and contemporary Chinese ink paintings in the West. In the second half of the 20th century, many ink painters experimented with subjects, media, formats, and styles both traditional and modern, East Asian and Western. Focusing on this five-decade era—a heretofore neglected period—A Tradition Redefined demonstrates the dramatic evolution of Chinese painting in modern times and lays the foundation for a deeper understanding of the international-style works produced in China today. Featuring paintings by artists active in mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and abroad, the exhibition is the first to present a comprehensive examination of works created across a broad geographical range and includes many paintings not previously exhibited in the United States.

Organized by Robert D. Mowry, Alan J. Dworsky Curator of Chinese Art; Janet Baker, curator of Asian art, Phoenix Art Museum (PAM); Claudia Brown, professor of art history, Arizona State University, and research curator, PAM.

Funding for the exhibition and catalogue was provided by the Art Mentor Foundation Lucerne, Blakemore Foundation, E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation, David Woods Kemper Memorial Foundation, Joel and Lisa Alvord, Winnie and Michael Feng, Dorothy Tapper Goldman, the family of Earle Jen-Shyong Ho, James M. Kemper, Jr., Marilyn J. Stokstad, Jacqueline B. and Alan L. Stuart, Martha Sutherland and Barnaby Conrad III, and Gilbert and Stephanie Zuellig.

Press Release